When we want to help
"slow learning" children meet their challenges, we always
have to start with evaluation. There are so many reasons why a child may face
a challenge
with certain subjects, some of which are often hidden to us, the
adults.

A decisive reason that can cause a child to fall
behind, is a learning disability. I will not
discuss learning disabilities, since this is a subject that belongs in the hands of a skilled
expert..

Another reason that can cause
a child to fall behind,
could be a slight hearing impairment, or a vision impairment. I recommend to
check hearing and
vision as soon as a problem becomes apparent.

Lets evaluate the reasons that could cause a child to
appear to be a "slow learner". A child
that has a dominant audio memory, may show difficulties in spelling, if he is
encouraged to write
the words several times in order to remember them. This is a learning
method that works well with the people who have a dominant visual memory,
but it is not effective at all for children who have a dominant audio
memory.

A child that has a
strong dominant visual
memory, might have problems remembering tunes, music and songs. Methods can
be used that take advantage of the child's learning style, in order to help him learn the material using
his dominant style
of learning. Teachers
who receive training in this area, will be able to utilize methods appropriate for all
styles of learning.

Some students have very active minds. They learn
faster than other kids, and are actually very
gifted learners. These children do not get the adequate stimulation for their
minds in a classroom environment.
These children experience real suffering, trying to follow the slow sequence
of learning in the
classroom. They lose their focus, and "go into their own world".
They will appear to be slow
learners, and occasionally will also create a behavioral problem. This case
is hard to deal with
if there is no special program for gifted children available in the school.
The teacher will have
to find a way to keep this child (or children) challenged and busy. In my
son's classroom there was a child who was very gifted, and had a very active mind.
The boy read an immense number of books at home, and had an amazing amount of
knowledge. When the teacher tried to teach in class, he always tried to
intervene with a "related" story. Of course, that caused an
interruption in the classroom, and the child was determined to have a behavioral
problem and a learning disability. When he was enrolled in a special class that
employed accelerated learning, the problem was solved.

Another common case is a child that was told that he
is a "slow learner" before. For example,
in Mathematics. A child had some challenge with a Math concept, and the
teacher, a parent, or
a classmate, made a comment, ridiculed him or laughed at him, and the child
got the idea
that he "is slow in Math". When a child tries to solve a problem,
he has to believe that he can and will solve the problem. A child that does
not believe that he can
solve the problem, may start the process of looking for a solution, but will
stop before he has found
the solution, because he gives up. In this case, dealing with the problem
takes encouragement
and lots of praise. Cooperation between the teacher and the parents will help
accelerate the solution.
A good example is a young college student I have met, who believed her teacher in second
grade, who told her
that she is "not good in math". She took a Logic class, and
succeeded tremendously. She told
me that she was amazed when she found out that Logic is a branch of math. This young student
was so
amazed to find out that she can succeed in anything that is related to
Mathematics.

Children are naturally very fast
learners, but differ in learning styles, ability to focus, self confidence
and personality. The school environment of today does not accommodate all
learning styles and all
personalities. Learning in a big group sometimes creates an environment that
supports one child, but
neglects another, to some degree. If there is no learning disability, or a
physical reason, then taking
the time to find out what the reason is and how to deal with it as early as
possible, is a crucial thing to
do to stop the child from falling behind. An alert teacher or a diligent
parent can make a big difference
in the child's future.